What does national tenant survey tell us about the Renters’ Rights Bill?

The Voice of the Tenant survey is an annual national survey that examines people’s experiences of living in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) in England.

Drawing upon research conducted in March 2025 with over 2000 tenants, it provides a valuable snapshot of the realities facing tenants across a range of issues.

In this blog, we look at the implications of the findings for the Renters’ Rights Bill due to become law this year.

The Bill is intended to give tenants greater security and rights but there are concerns from some parts of the sector about its impact and potential unintended consequences. So what does the data tell us?

1. Empowering tenants alone is ineffective – education is key

The Renters’ Rights Bill aims to strengthen tenant rights by ending Section 21 evictions, enhancing tenants’ ability to challenge unfair rent increases and introducing a PRS Landlord Ombudsman, among other changes. But how will these changes be communicated to tenants?

The Voice of the Tenant report indicates a lack of awareness amongst tenants of the redress mechanisms currently available if they encounter an issue. This is a significant barrier to raising and escalating complaints.

Legislation needs to be accompanied by a public education campaign to improve tenant awareness

When tenants did raise an issue and their landlord/letting agent failed to address the problem, only 18% of tenants took their complaint to the local council and/or a redress scheme.

Furthermore, the survey showed that two in five tenants would not know where to go next if the landlord/letting agent failed to address a housing problem.

This shows that passing new legislation will not be enough to ensure that tenants feel empowered to assert their rights. It needs to be accompanied by a national public education campaign to improve tenant awareness.

2. Landlords are not selling up en masse in response to the Renters’ Reform Bill

There are claims that landlords have been selling up and leaving the sector in increasing numbers because of fears of the changes introduced by the Bill.   

However, according to our research, only 14% of tenants moved from their last rented home because the landlord was selling the property or asked them to leave. This figure has remained largely stable over the last two years, challenging the notion of an exodus of landlords from the Private Rented Sector.

It is also consistent with what landlords are telling us. In our Voice of the Landlord survey, more landlords purchased properties than sold them in the past year.

3. The Bill is unlikely to lead to a sharp increase in tenant turnover

The Renters’ Rights Bill will end fixed term tenancies and allow tenants to leave a property at any time with two months’ notice. This has raised concern amongst some commentators that this will lead to more frequent changes in occupancy.

However, our survey suggests that such fears may be overstated. Our survey shows that half of tenants plan to stay in their rented home for more than a year, and nearly a quarter would like to remain for more than three years.  

Current patterns indicate that most tenants value longer tenancies and housing stability

The results also indicate a shift towards tenants staying in their rented homes for longer. Fewer tenants had moved in the twelve months to March 2025 and a higher proportion reported living in their rented property for between one and three years.

While future behaviours will ultimately depend on how the market responds, current patterns indicate that most tenants value longer tenancies and housing stability.

4. Changes to help ease financial pressures are positive but not enough on their own

When it comes to accessing a home in the Private Rented Sector, our research found that finding an affordable property has remained the greatest challenge over the last two years.

This was followed by affording the deposit and paying rent in advance, all of which have become increasingly difficult since March 2023.  

The Renters’ Rights Bill will address the challenge of paying rent in advance by limiting the amount of rent that landlords can request upfront to one month, which the data suggests, on the one hand, may be beneficial.

However, there are concerns that the restriction on rent in advance may create new barriers for certain groups, as landlords will be less inclined to rent to tenants who they consider be more financially risky.

Nearly 60% of tenants experienced rent increases in the past year and a third of tenants (32%) struggled to afford the rent in February 2025. While the Bill will empower tenants to challenge unfair rent increases, this new power will only be effective if tenants are educated on how to exercise their rights.

Ultimately improving housing supply and ending the LHA freeze are the key measures to improve affordability

Finally, the Bill will offer some relief for tenants who are behind on their rent. At the time our research was conducted, 12% of tenants were in rent arrears. Ninety per cent of those in arrears said they will take steps to try to address the situation.

With the Bill increasing the mandatory threshold for eviction from two to three months’ arrears, it is hoped the changes will allow tenants more time to access the necessary support and remain in their home. 

While these measures are welcomed by some, we question whether these changes alone are enough to challenge widespread affordability issues in the sector. Ultimately improving supply of the housing stock across all sectors and ending the LHA freeze are the key measures needed to improve the affordability of housing.

About the survey

The Voice of the Tenant Survey is a regular national survey funded by the TDS Charitable Foundation. It explores people’s experiences of living in the private rented sector in England and tracks how trends are changing over time. Focusing on issues related to affordability, tenure security and property conditions, this representative survey commenced in 2022 and is repeated annually with a new sample of over 2000 tenants. Each wave includes a key topical issue; the most recent wave (conducted in March 2025) includes questions on energy efficiency.

The full results of the survey can be accessed here.